From Around the Web: Hotel Groups Collaborate to Launch First Standardized Water Measurement Tool

The International Tourism Partnership have announced a jointly agreed upon method for measuring water use in the hotel industry.

The 18-month project has resulted in “a free methodology and calculation tool which will enable hotel companies and individual properties to measure and report on water consumption in a consistent way.”

Consistent is the key word: up until now, while companies did measure water consumption, each firm had its own methods that may have included (or excluded) certain sources or uses of water. Also key was that the initiative would be “free and easy to implement.”

The initiative was started in response to “one of the most pressing global issues hotels need to address is their consumption of water, and the understanding that “what gets measured gets managed.”

The hoteliers worked with KPMG as technical consultants and included with input from the international expert community, including the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Water Footprint Network, CDP and CEO Water Mandate.